


Connections

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: M/M, warning for swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2019-02-08 00:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12852738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Jack develops a new Aideen power, but it's more of a curse. Jack belongs to SSO-Jack-Wolfwatcher.





	Connections

At first, Jack had been skeptical about supposedly being Aideen. How could he be Aideen if he was a guy? But then, he’d discovered new aspects of the power that he’d never expected. Being the reincarnation of a goddess (or a sliver of her? That part didn’t make sense either, there were theories but all Jack knew was that he could activate the four rune stones) came with powers the likes of which he’d never thought of before. He could activate the rune stones and the Light and use a rune wand, yes, but…

It had first happened in one of Jack’s many visits out to the wilderness, when he’d been sitting in the middle of one of the many forests of Jorvik. His eyes had been closed, and he’d been drifting off to sleep. And then, suddenly, the backs of his eyelids had been painted with colours, and he’d felt some great emotion, as though thousands of minds had brushed his for a brief moment.

Needless to say, he hadn’t managed to fall asleep there that day. Instead, he’d gone directly to his boyfriend, Ydris.

“Jack, what’s the matter?” Ydris had asked upon opening the door of his wagon and seeing his clearly-distressed boyfriend.

“What do you know about Aideen?” Jack had asked, walking into the wagon and sitting down on Ydris’ bed, raking his fingers through his blue hair. Ydris had blinked, startled at this sudden question. Jack didn’t usually talk about the Aideen stuff.

“Well, I know that she was powerful,” Ydris had said, sitting beside his boyfriend on the bed. Jack had frowned.

“Well, yeah, but what powers?” Jack had asked, looking at Ydris with his blue eyes full of confusion. And Ydris had softened, taking Jack into his arms.

“I confess that I only knew about her defensive powers,” Ydris had said, rubbing Jack’s arm comfortingly. “But after that… encounter, I learned many things about her. Such as what powers she possessed outside those that the druids knew about.”

“Like what?” Jack had demanded, frustrated now at how vague his boyfriend was being.

“Aideen was, as I’m sure you must have learned or deduced by now, a creation goddess,” Ydris had said. “She brought life to this island.”

“Yeah, I remember that part,” Jack had said. “So, what, I should be able to create shit?”

“Yes,” Ydris had said, nodding. “Though, that is probably an advanced power. What brought on this question, may I ask?”

“Well, could she, uh… did she have that thing where you see different things as colours?” Jack had asked.

“Synesthesia,” Ydris had supplied. “No, I do not believe that she had that. At least, not in that incarnation. Why?”

“Cos I was just out in the forest and I saw these bright colours behind my eyelids when I was trying to fall asleep,” Jack had said. “And I felt something weird.”

“Weird how?” Ydris had asked, immediately curious now.

“Like these minds,” Jack had said. “Or consciousness or some shit like that. I dunno.” Ydris had looked at him with such awe that Jack had fully expected the crushing embrace and smooches that Ydris had then given him.

“You felt the island, Jack,” Ydris had said. “And everything that lives on it.”

“But how?” Jack had asked.

“Well, Aideen created life on this island, it only makes sense that she- or he, in your case- should be able to feel the life,” Ydris had said. Jack had trembled, but not in fear.

“Can you do that?” Jack had asked. Ydris had laughed.

“No, my dear, not quite,” Ydris had said. “I can feel the life force of things sometimes, but it’s easier for me to see it, and even then, I have to concentrate very hard and cast a certain spell.”

“So it’s a strong power, right?” Jack had asked. Ydris had nodded, and now Jack had felt fear.

“Fuck,” Jack had said. “So I’m alone in this.”

“Not entirely,” Ydris had said. “Perhaps some others among the new crop of Soul Riders possess these powers too. They may be able to help you.”

“Ha, yeah,” Jack had said. “Like they’d believe me if I said that I had these powers. They’d just be confused.”

“You never know until you try,” Ydris had said.

But, despite Ydris’ encouragement, Jack had not spoken to any of the other members of the new Soul Riders, not outside of his circle of friends. They envied his ability, though it scared Zelda slightly, but none of them possessed the power to the strength that he had it.

As the months had passed, Jack had tapped into his new power unknowingly quite a few times. Now, it was quite common for him to feel the minds of the creatures of Jorvik brushing up against his own mind seconds before he felt a furry body pressing up against his leg. It was like his link with Dale, only more random. And he couldn’t just feel the animals, either.

To Jack, the great Warden trees were beacons of light in what Ydris called his ‘aura sight’. But most of them were dormant, and did not talk to him beyond brushing against his mind.

And then the day came that Jack finally felt the downside to his newfound power. It came when he rode through the Greydew Mountain Pass with Herman on his horse. It was only through the strength of his horse that Jack did not topple to the ground. Because beyond the great brick wall, the land was screaming. And somewhere inside Jack, something echoed that scream, threatening to tear him apart with the intense pain and sadness. It lessened somewhat when he arrived at Stormgarden, but it took Tatiana a while to calm him down.

“It’s okay, you’re okay, calm down, you’re safe now,” Tatiana said, gently patting his leg. “Come on, get off your horse, I’ll get you a glass of water or something.” Jack didn’t respond, too busy cringing against the pain and wishing that he knew how to stop feeling it.

He only felt like he could breathe again, ironically enough, when he was in the foggy Mirror Marshes. There, he took great gulps of air, though the peacefulness of this land calmed him more than deep breathing. He covered his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses. If only GED could feel it, feel what they were doing, would they keep destroying the land that they lived on? They were killing it, taking it until there was nothing left.

It was through a daze that Jack learned the codes to the gates and unlocked them, and when he did, he rode straight back to the highland and the circus tent where his boyfriend lived and worked. Ydris, seeing his distress, let him in immediately.

“Jack, what happened? Are you hurt?” Ydris asked. Because Jack still looked distressed, tears still leaking from his eyes, and he was still shaking.

“No,” Jack said, shaking his head. “It’s Old Hillcrest. It’s dying, Ydris.”

“I’m glad you weren’t around when it happened,” said Ydris. “If you’d been able to feel that explosion with your current powers…” He shook his head.

“I just wish someone shared my pain,” said Jack, looking deep into Ydris’ eyes. “Can’t you take it away somehow?” Ydris looked at him sadly.

“No,” said Ydris. “Sadly, I cannot, though I would do anything to take your pain away, Jack.” Jack sniffed, then groaned and covered his ears.

“I can still hear it,” said Jack. “Screaming. And something inside me just…”

“That’s the soul, I’d wager,” said Ydris. “Or the sliver of Aideen’s light that resides inside you. My theory is that she felt all of this all the time.”

“How did she not go insane?” asked Jack, staring wide-eyed at his boyfriend. “I can barely stand a day of it.” Ydris chuckled.

“Who said that Aideen was sane?” asked Ydris. “Now you know why she fought for this land. For every creature, every tree, every blade of grass on it.”

“I don’t want it,” said Jack. “I never asked for these powers, I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“Jack,” Ydris said gently, placing his hands on Jack’s cheeks and kissing him. Jack returned the kiss, grateful for the distraction, and closed his eyes.

The screaming was silenced after a few hours, but the memory of that scream and the ache remained. Ydris watched his boyfriend drift into a restless sleep, wishing that there was something he could do to help him. But he did not possess that power, nor did he know of a way to stop it. Perhaps some more research on Aideen was needed.


End file.
